For Your Eyes Only

Put a 19-inch monitor on the tip of your nose.

By
Stephen Hochbrunn

Ten years ago, they might have passed for a hip pair of sunglasses. (Okay, maybe not.) But inViso Inc.'s new eShades will take you to levels of hipness you could only dream about a decade ago. Plug them into your laptop and it's as if you've got a 19-inch desktop monitor perched on your nose. Thanks to a sophisticated technology that inViso calls OptiScape, the display inside the glasses is actually smaller than a postage stamp, but a magnifier blows up the image so that it seems as if you're looking at a full-sized monitor. EShades should appeal to frequent flyers: They use a lot less battery power than a normal screen, and nosy neighbors can't see what you're working on. And they weigh in at slightly more than 3 ounces. EShades cost $600. Visit inViso on the Web (www.inviso.com).

A version of this article appeared in the November 2000 issue of Fast Company magazine.